Wedding photography styles
This blog post shares the three different wedding photography styles that NJ photographer, Miranda, of Suess Moments, specializes in.
About the wedding photographer
Suess Moments Photography is managed by Miranda Suess, who has been working as a professional wedding photographer in New Jersey since 2017. She has a great experience in event photography and studio family portraiture. Miranda started Suess Moments wedding photography as she found her true calling in working with couples who are planning romantic and whimsical events.
The wedding photography styles
Photojournalism/Documentary
This wedding photography style is often referred to as “candid” or “natural”. The photographer doesn’t give many directions, except for maybe suggesting where the subject should stand to get the best lighting or composition. The photographer is unobtrusive, like a fly on the wall. This style makes up about 80% of the wedding gallery and includes moments such as the getting ready process, first looks, the entire ceremony, and the reception, all captured in a documentary style. Another way of looking at it, all but 2.5 hours of your wedding day will be documented in a truly candid way.
Posed & Guided
This particular wedding photography style is usually featured in a photographer’s portfolio, showcasing their best work with couples. Personally, I adore this style as it allows me to direct couples in such a way that they look their absolute best while still appearing natural in their poses. It’s important to me that my clients can feel the genuine emotions from the moment captured in their photos and not feel awkward or uncomfortable. Not every photographer can achieve this level of comfort, but based on my past reviews, I have been able to successfully guide couples through the posing process and help them feel relaxed and at ease in front of the camera. The posed and guided style entails instructing subjects on how to position their hands and body, and guiding them into angles that make them look their best. These types of photos can still feel candid if the photographer prompts the subjects with ideas on what to think about, say, or do while being posed in the best light and composition. This wedding photography style is commonly used during the getting ready moments and majority of the portrait sessions with the couple. The more traditional, formal portraits are typically taken during the family group shots portion of the day and just a few shots of the couple together. This style makes up about 15% of the wedding gallery. Another way of looking at it, about 2.5 hours of your wedding day will be posed & guided: 90 minutes during preparation photos and about 1 hour during wedding party and family photos.
Creative
This wedding photography style is a fun and creative way to make mundane photographs look magical. However, achieving this style requires patience, special lighting effects, an open mind, and post-processing using Photoshop. Since this style is usually captured in low light conditions, the subject needs to be still for the shot. It takes time and effort to find the perfect composition and timing to create the desired effect. As a wedding photographer, it may take about 15 minutes during the wedding day to create the shot, but the post-processing can take much longer to achieve the desired magical effect. I call this style “magical night-time shots,” and they usually make up about 1-3 shots in the wedding photo gallery.
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